Taco Seasoning and Flat Learning Curves

So, last night was taco night at our house.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm. . .taco night.  Here's our basic taco spread (you may note the absence of tomatoes; neither Matt nor I are big fans of them.  The hatred that we share for tomatoes is one of the reasons that we decided to marry.)  You may notice that there's a bag of frozen strawberries on the table.  No, these aren't special fruit tacos.  We're not hippies.

Nothing special, right?  No, not really, except that we made and were using Homemade Taco Seasoning (part of my effort to reduce the amount of sodium in our diets), and we were using the newest addition to our family, the All Clad chef's pan that Matt's mom gave me for my birthday.

I'll forever be impressed by this pan and the way it heats evenly.  It's basically a magic pan.  So, while Matt was cooking up our taco meat (and had been at it already for 10-15 minutes), I decided to swoon over the pan a little, and to test out how the pan heats, so I just grabbed the side of it, burning the crap out of my fingers.  (Thus the bag of frozen strawberries.)  There was some swearing that happened.

What's so frustrating about this little episode is that it's about the one millionth time I've touched something that I know is hot, just to see how hot it is.

Matt just shakes his head and wonders if he really should have married someone just because she also didn't like tomatoes.

For Real, Though, Who Threw That Pan at Me?

Spring break has been spectacular.  The weather has been so perfect that it's seemed fake, I've got a tiny bit of sunburn on the backs of my legs--not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me that summer is fast approaching--and I haven't been this relaxed in a loooooooooooong time.  I'd be a damned liar if I didn't admit that I miss my child:

But my birthday gift from Matt's parents is helping to soothe the pain.  If I haven't said it before, I have some of the greatest in-laws around. 

This has nothing to do with anything, really, but I want to share a story.  Back at JMU, one of my friends was buying beer at the local Food Lion.  Ahead of her in line was a gigantic woman wearing a mu-mu (moo-moo?) who was buying a single toothbrush.  When she moved forward to pay for her toothbrush, an entire ham fell out from underneath her mu-mu.  She looked around, seemingly surprised, and yelled out, "FOR REAL, THOUGH, WHO THREW THAT HAM AT ME?"

Happy Easter!

(Matt and I spent the last two hours watching Breaking Bad, and now we're watching What a Girl Wants.  I'm definitely having bad dreams tonight.)

Come to me, beautiful!

Dear All Clad Chef's Pan:

Please come live with us and allow us to cook up delicious foods inside your shiny, evenly-heated belly. We'll make it worth your while!

Sincerely,

Mandy, Matt, and Mitch